I know this site is pretty dead but maybe someone besides me still occasionally plays SR2 and checks in here.

I always considered Tranculcators a waste of time. In the beginning of the game they are too large to carry in your cargo hold and by the end of the game they die instantly in any battle against any reasonably-armed opponent. However, I've been playing around with a Tranculcator and learned the following.
1) They are like a Tardis, a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. This one occupies 50 cubes in the hold but has 338 cubes inside.
2) You can instruct it to land on a planet and go to the warehouse. In the hangar you right-click on it and it opens up like your ship. You can swap components between your planetary warehouse and the Tranculcator. So, you can upgrade weapons, engine, fuel tank, gripper, etc. There's no radar or scanner slots. You must swap the engine and fuel tank. You can't remove these without inserting new ones.
3) You can upgrade the hull by adding micro-modules (e.g. Brond) but I have not found a way to upgrade the hull at a science base. So, it will remain a 1+X protection level. Where X is the force of whatever micromodule you add.
4) You can use your excess experience to upgrade the skills (e.g. Accuracy) of the robot.
5) While the robot can store a fair amount in its hold, if it lands on a planet and takes off again, everything in its hold gets deposited in the warehouse.
6) You can program the robot's AI to collect specific classes of stuff (e.g. Micromodules and Artifacts)

Because it's not really practical or even possible to seriously upgrade the robot's hull, it's not of any benefit in any battle. I think maybe the best use would be to strip one down with just a fast engine and good gripper then deploy it after the battle to pick up valuables, while you attend the award ceremony.